Article by
Barbados Today

Published on
October 9, 2012

Shivnarine Chanderpaul knocked 27 in 23 balls but his Uva Next side lost to Yorkshire in a Champions League T20 qualifier.
West Indies middle-order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul finished on the losing side as his Uva Next were defeated by Yorkshire by five wickets in their Champions League T20 qualifier at Johannesburg today.
Batting at number three, Chanderpaul struck 27 in 23 balls with three boundaries as the Sri Lanka champions made 150 for seven wickets in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, Yorkshire plodded their way to 151 for five wickets with three balls to spare.
Yorkshire were presented with a homely welcome for their opening game against Uva. Cloudy skies, following rain earlier in the day, and a green pitch were as close to Headingley as they could have wished for in an overseas tournament.
But it was Yorkshire’s South African overseas player, David Miller, who got them over the line in a chase that should have been more straightforward than it proved as Yorkshire stumbled against the spin of Dilshan Munaweera. Miller returned from a nasty blow to the face from Umar Gul to win the game with a blast of 17 runs in six balls to get Yorkshire home when 18 were needed from 10 balls.Munaweera bowled the second over outside the Powerplay, which yielded 57 runs. Phil Jaques, who played 11 Tests for Australia but now plays English cricket under a British passport, had smashed 32 in 21 balls but backing away to drive Munaweera’s third ball down the ground, chipped a catch back to the bowler. Gary Ballance, who enjoyed his best season in 2012, was then bowled first ball backing to leg.
England discard Adil Rashid survived the hat-trick and held the innings together with his best Twenty20 score. It would have been a pleasing knock for Rashid who endured a difficult domestic season, being dropped from the County Championship team for the first time in his career.
For a while it was Rashid or nothing for Yorkshire. Miller received a quick bouncer from Umar Gul that crashed into his face and forced him from the field with a bloodied nose. It was a delivery that demonstrated the pace of the wicket. It left Rashid and Dan Hodgson, the wicketkeeper who had previously played six list A matches for Yorkshire, to take up the chase. Hodgson could only work a run-a-ball supporting innings and it was Rashid that had to find the boundaries with 48 required from 30 balls.
He lifted Jacob Oram, who went for 42 in four overs, for six before adding two fours off Gul to leave 18 from 12 with Hodgson on strike and Munaweera bowling the penultimate over. A dot ball forced Hodgson to charge the bowler. He missed, was stumped, and provided the opening Miller needed to add to his run-a-ball 22.
Too few to defend
First ball, he reached out to a full delivery and cracked it over point, almost for six. The next ball did carry over the ropes, taken from outside off over long on, before a third boundary – four past extra cover – left only three needed from the last over. Too few even for Gul to defend.
In addition to Chanderpaul who was caught by wicketekeeper Dan Hodgson off the bowling of Steve Patterson, only captain Thilina Kandamby with an unbeaten 29 showed any enterprise with the bat. Four of the top five batsmen got into their twenties without going on to anything significant.In another qualifier Sialkot Stallions’ maiden Champions League T20 match did not go according to their impressive domestic script. They entered the competition having won Pakistan’s Twenty20 competition seven out of nine times and possessed a world-record winning streak of 25 matches. However, on a Wanderers pitch that bounced and seamed, they were undone by Auckland Aces’ pace attack and their own desire to swing with abandon. Stallions made a below-par 130 for 9 and Auckland responded with 136 for 4 in 17. 1 overs. Martin Guptill top-scored for Auckland with 40. (Cricinfo)